Thèmes populaires

The US and Guantanamo Bay

Résumé de l'exposé

In 1898, the United States intervened the Caribbean and Pacific to fight against the Spanish imperialism. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the United States occupied Cuba from January 1899 to May 1902. On February 25, 1901, Senator Orville H. Platt introduced "the famous amendment that bears his name? (Aguilar 1972), which influenced the American intervention in Cuban affairs. It also proposed the creation of an American naval base in Cuba. The bill became a law on March 2. In spite of a strong opposition in the country, Cuba conceded that a restricted independence was better than a military regime (Aguilar 1972) and included the amendment in its 1901 Constitution.

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Sommaire de l'exposé

Issue background: Guantánamo and the United States since 1898

Courses of action

Arguments: why Guantánamo should return to Cuba

Extraits de l'exposé

[...] The diplomatic relations of Cuba and the United States have evolved since the Cuban revolution of 1959; the two countries ended diplomacy in 1961. Since then, the Treaty of 1934 has had a counter-effect; it worsened the relations of the two countries. International law consecrated the precept of basic changes of circumstance; since the treaty has become a tool of provocation instead of friendship, it could be considered null and void (Luis Ricardo 1994). As it is explained in the ?Issue Background,? Fidel Castro has always opposed the treaty and pleaded in favour of a return of Guantánamo to Cuba. [...]

[...] The movement stated that North American military base at Guantánamo, Cuba, the presence of which has been opposed by the government and people of Cuba, affects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country.? (Ricardo Luis 1994) [iii] For further details, see Ricardo Luis, Roger, Guantánamo: The Bay of Discord, p. and Smith, Wayne S., and Esteban Morales Dominguez, Subject to Solution: Problems in Cuban-U.S. Relations p. 107-108. WORKS CITED Aguilar, Luis E Cuba 1933: Prologue to Revolution. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Blight, James G., and Philip Brenner Sad and Luminous Days: Cuba's Struggle with the Superpowers After the Missile Crisis. Lanham, MD; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Bonsal, Philip W Cuba, Castro, and the United States. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. Cage, Sam. ?U.N. [...]

[...] These treaties started the process of handing the canal over to Panamanian control. For Dominguez and Smith (1988), it ?proved that a U.S. decision to negotiate and resolve conflicts over sovereignty can both improve its image abroad and open up new understanding between the two parties.? Following the Panama Canal model would improve both the domestic and the international image of the Bush administration. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of March 2006, the approval ratings of President Bush's actions have fallen down to 37 percent. [...]

[...] It would not only satisfy our people and our allies willing to see the detention center close, but also show our determination to enter into a real dialog with Cuba after many years of diplomatic war. a cessation of the U.S. economic embargo and U.S. pressure on other countries to cut commercial links to Cuba; an end to U.S. subversive activities against Cuba, including organization of invasions by mercenaries? and infiltration of spies and saboteurs?; ?cessation of the piratical attacks? from bases in the U.S. and Puerto Rico; an end to violations of Cuban airspace; and U.S. withdrawal from Guantanamo Naval Base (Blight, Brenner 2004). [...]

[...] The post-9/11 world gave a new dimension to the Guantánamo issue. The first suspected al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners arrived at the U.S. prison camp in Guantánamo Bay on January (AP 2005). These prisoners were first detained in the temporary detention center called Camp X-Ray. A new permanent detention center providing better conditions of detention, Camp Delta, began construction in late February 2002 (Scheppler 2005). From September to May 2005, over 1,200 people have been arrested and detained without charge. In May 2005, around 540 people were still detained at the U.S. [...]